Snow Warning
by Ocean Storm 312
Summary: An Alolan Vulpix celebrates her first Christmas with her trainer. Originally written for the Bulbagarden Christmas Contests.


**This was originally written for the Bulbagarden Christmas Contest, and I only just got around to posting it. Enjoy!**

"What are you doing?"

Rachel turned to look at me and grinned. "I'm collecting berries!" she informed me proudly.

I gave a small laugh and shook my head. Rachel is very excitable, even for a Pikachu. " _Why_ are you collecting berries?" I clarified.

She looked at me with a slightly strange expression on her face. "Haven't you heard? Christmas is coming up soon, and we're preparing presents for our trainer!"

I blinked uncomprehendingly and she sighed. "You haven't heard about it, have you?" I shook my head. She put a hand on her forehead exasperatedly and groaned dramatically. "Alright, Aurora, come with me. We're having a gathering to help you learn about Christmas!"

I looked around the circle at my teammates. Rachel was trying to awaken Athena. I knew she wouldn't have much luck, though. Athena, like most Decidueye, felt the urge to sleep during the day, and this urge only got stronger in the warm Alolan winter.

Beside them lay Sandra, who was watching for predators. She was a particularly cautious Pokémon, and had the protective instincts of any mother Lycanroc. For some reason, she was especially protective of me. My mistress has speculated that it may have to do with similarities between Vulpix and Rockruff, but I'm not so sure about that.

Amelia was grooming me, as usual. She has always had a performers eye for detail, and upon evolving into a Primarina she has taken it upon herself to make sure we all look our best at all times. She also tends to groom me first, for some reason.

I looked around again. Someone was missing…

"Boo!" I yelped and jumped back from the suddenly visible Mismagius. "Did I scare you, Aurora?"

"Yeah, a little bit…" I responded, before shaking myself to recover from the shock. Mitsumi had only just evolved, and had kept her love of pranks from her pre-evolved state.

"I'm sorry, but you're just so fun to scare!" She giggled a bit and floated back to her place in the circle just as Rachel called for order.

"Why are we here?" Athena muttered grouchily. Rachel looked around and proclaimed dramatically, "Aurora still doesn't know about Christmas!"

Everyone stiffened, then looked at me. Mitsumi looked away guiltily. "I knew I was forgetting something…" She murmured.

"Why is this so bad?" I said. I tilted my head in confusion. Athena looked at me and replied, "It's not as bad as we're making it seem. Christmas is a human holiday where all the humans try to be kinder and more forgiving than usual, and Pokémon with trainers tend to follow their lead."

"That doesn't sound too hard," I muse. Athena smiles fondly at me, then continues, "Another Christmas tradition we follow is the giving of presents. We gather some surprises we think our trainers may like and reveal those surprises on Christmas day."

This sounded exciting! "I can do that! When do I need it by?"

An uncomfortable silence passed. Eventually, Sandra whispered, "Three days."

After a moment, I drooped. How could I find a present in three days? I felt myself being pulled into a hug. "I'm sorry, I thought you already knew!" Amelia cried.

"It's ok," I sighed. I tried to smile. "I can come up with something!"

Amelia put me down and smiled back at me. "That's the spirit! Tell me if you need help!" The others nodded, and I beamed. They really are the best team-mates ever!

I wandered around the house we were staying at. My mistress had chosen to stay with her mother for the vacation, which I now realized was because of Christmas time. I was hoping to find something to give me an idea of what to give her. Suddenly I heard voices in the kitchen. I walked to the door to find my mistress looking slightly unhappy. Her mother was trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, dear, but there's no way we can take your Pokémon with us to Kanto. It would be hard enough to get tickets this late, but getting a permit for Alolan Pokémon would be impossible!"

My mistress sighed. "I understand, Mom. I was just hoping for a white Christmas this year…"

Her mother smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Maybe next year I can get all the papers done in time, and we can go to Kanto for Christmas. I bet the Pokémon would be excited to see all that snow!"

Another sigh, but this time she was smiling. "Yes, that would be great. I'm going to Hau'oli City to buy presents. I should be back tomorrow with everything."

She walked past me, giving me a pat on the head as she went. Her mother waved energetically, as usual. "Be safe, Serene!"

As I walked back outside, I reflected on what I had heard. What my mistress wanted most was a "White Christmas". This was something that could only be found in Kanto. All I knew about Kanto is that the Vulpix there were strange and that you could find something called "Snow".

My wanderings lead me to Athena's roost. She had found a hollow tree where she hid during the day to sleep. When she noticed my arrival, she opened one eye and asked, "Is anything wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, I was only wondering if you knew what a 'White Christmas' is."

She looked thoughtful for some time, then said, "I've heard Miss Serene mention it a few times. I believe that it is a phenomenon that results when there is a lot of snow on Christmas day. She mentioned that it was uncommon in Alola."

I thanked her and walked further. I knew what my present would be.

I had been able to summon snow for a long time, but it had never lasted long. Even my ability, snow warning, had a very limited range of effect and the resulting hailstones melted quickly. However, with enough practice, I was sure that I could create enough snow to make my mistress's Christmas white. With memories of her kindness as my inspiration, I strode confidently into the open clearing in Ten Carat Hill.

I took a deep breath and told myself, _I'm ready_. I then summoned all my strength and activated my snow warning. I saw the clouds billow into the sky. However, it wasn't strong enough. I forced more and more power into the storm, but it wasn't growing bigger. The world was growing darker and darker, and I was feeling lighter and lighter…

The last things I heard before I blacked out were Sandra's panicked howl and my Mistress's shout.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a collection of blurred shapes above me. I heard a shout of "She's awake!" and saw a flurry of motion. As my vision cleared, I saw that the entire team was there to help me. With a pang of guilt I saw that they all looked tired, as though they had been awake all night.

Mitsumi floated towards me. "What happened?" she asked quietly. I looked down before answering. "I was trying to make a white Christmas," I whispered. "I'm sorry I worried you all so much."

Amelia looked towards me with watery eyes, then gave me a smothering hug. Sandra gave me a nuzzle as well, and Athena looked at me guiltily. She cleared her throat and said, "You didn't need to do so much for a Christmas present. It's your first Christmas, Miss Serene would have understood."

My Mistress picked me up and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe, Aurora," she murmured. I nuzzled her and we stayed like that until her mother opened the door. "How about a nice breakfast to celebrate Aurora's safety?"

Everyone eagerly rushed to the table, but then my Mistress stopped and said, "What about the presents?"

We all went outside to exchange presents. As each member of the team gave their presents, my heart sank lower with guilt. Rachel had gathered a large bag of berries, Athena had made a cloak of her loose feathers, Mitsumi gave her a lesson on playing pranks, and Sandra and Amelia had teamed up to create a beautiful sculpture made of weathered stones.

They also all got wonderful presents in return, all wrapped beautifully. As I stood aside with my ears drooping, a small white box slid at my feet. I looked up and saw my Mistress smiling down at me. "It's for you!" she said.

I looked at the box, then smiled up at her as tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. Even though I hadn't gotten her a present she was still kind enough to give me one…

"Well?" She said excitedly. "Aren't you going to open it?"

I pulled off the ribbon and the paper. The lid fell off the box to reveal a gorgeous white stone. I felt an aura of icy power about it.

"It's an ice stone," she said. "If you touch it, it will evolve you into a Ninetales. I can keep it for you until you're ready, if you like."

An evolution into a Ninetales? This was perfect! I touched the stone and allowed the power of the stone to fill my body. I felt the ice rush through my body, and I felt the glow begin to surround me. I barely heard the gasps of my teammates as I grew taller and more graceful. I basked in the euphoric feeling of evolution and the power that now rushed through me. As the glow faded away, I padded towards a clear space, lifted my head, and summoned my power with a keening call.

Lightly-colored storm clouds swirled overhead, and the air grew colder than I had ever made it before. A snowflake fell, followed by several more. I took in the look of awe on my teammates' faces and was startled to see that my Mistress was smiling through tears.

"You knew I wanted a white Christmas, didn't you?" she laughed. She then knelt and hugged me. "This is the best present ever. Thank you, Aurora."

The others gathered around us, all of them smiling proudly at me. The clustered around, and we all basked in the warmth of our group hug in my newly created blizzard. As we all stood there smiling happily, I realized that this would be the feeling I would always associate with Christmas – the warm, joyful feeling of being surrounded by my family.


End file.
